Week 1: The Great Waste Transformation

Weekly Objective: Eleanor will sort waste categories with 100% accuracy and construct a self-watering planter out of a single-use plastic bottle.

Dump a clean bag of mixed trash/recyclables in the middle of the room. Act shocked!

Explain the three categories: Recycle (paper, clean plastic, metal), Compost (food scraps, paper towels), and Landfill (plastic film, multi-material wrappers, trash). Label three large boxes with fun drawings for each category.

The Game: Place the three bins on one side of the room. Place the pile of clean trash on the other side. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Eleanor must pick up one item at a time, run, hop, or skip across the room, and deposit it in the correct bin. Run together! Correct mistakes playfully mid-run.

We are going to save a plastic bottle from the landfill by turning it into a self-watering planter.

1. Cut: An adult cuts a clean 2-liter bottle in half horizontally.
2. Thread: Thread a thick cotton string through the bottle cap hole. Screw the cap back on loosely.
3. Assemble: Invert the top half of the bottle (funnel-style) and place it inside the bottom half. The string should hang down into the bottom section.
4. Fill: Eleanor fills the top part with soil, leaving the string buried in the soil. Fill the bottom reservoir with water so the string dips in.
5. Plant: Eleanor plants a seed in the soil. Explain how the water climbs up the string (capillary action) to feed the plant.

Week 2: The Water Detective Agency

Weekly Objective: Eleanor will map how pollution flows through a watershed using a physical model and track her family's water usage for 3 days.

Hand Eleanor a magnifying glass and a drop of water on a spoon.

Crumple a large sheet of white paper into a tight ball, then partially unwind it so it looks like a landscape of hills, valleys, and ridges. Place it in a shallow baking pan.

Use a brown water-soluble marker to draw lines along the ridges (representing soil/pollution). Use blue food coloring droplets to represent pristine mountain lakes.

Let Eleanor use the spray bottle to simulate rain falling over the paper hills. Watch as the water runs down the ridges, carrying the brown marker ink (pollution) down into the blue lakes at the bottom.

Discussion: Use a sponge to absorb some water. Place the wet sponge on a hill and spray again. Notice how the sponge (acting like a forest or wetland) slows down the water and stops the runoff. Move and position the sponge together to find the best defense against pollution!

Give Eleanor 20 physical tokens (beads, marbles, or LEGOs). Every time anyone in the house uses water (flushes a toilet, brushes teeth, runs a faucet), they must hand Eleanor a token. Can the house keep at least 5 tokens by the end of the day? If the tokens run low, Eleanor must lead a "Water Audit" and show the household how to turn off faucets while brushing teeth.

Week 3: Hunting the Energy Vampires

Weekly Objective: Eleanor will identify at least three sources of energy waste (Energy Vampires) in the home and build a functional draft-dodger to conserve heat.

Turn off all the lights in the room. Use a flashlight to illuminate your face from below.

Walk around the house. Show Eleanor the little glowing red or green lights on electronics that are "off" but still plugged in. Touch a power brick to feel that it is warm—explain that warmth is wasted energy escaping into the room.

Wet your finger with water. Walk to doors, windows, and floorboards. Hold your finger up to feel for cold air leaks (drafts) entering the house. Have Eleanor do the same. When she feels a cold spot, mark it with a small sticky note.

We are going to seal up those drafts using a physical insulation project!

1. Choose a Sock: Get an old, clean knee-high sock or the leg of an old pair of tights.
2. Fill it Up: Use a funnel to pour dry rice, beans, or clean sand into the sock. Squeeze it and pack it tight so it feels like a heavy beanbag tube.
3. Decorate: Tie the end tightly with a ribbon. Eleanor can draw a face on it to make it look like a friendly snake or caterpillar.
4. Deploy: Place the "draft snake" at the bottom of a door or window sill where you found cold air coming in. Feel the difference!

Week 4: The Circle of Life & Action

Weekly Objective: Eleanor will assemble a miniature desktop compost jar to observe biological decay and create seed bombs to grow pollinator-friendly plants.

Go outside. Have Eleanor scoop up a handful of dirt from a garden bed or under some leaves. Look at it closely.

Explain how nature recycles organic matter. Show a piece of fresh green lettuce and a piece of brown leaf. Explain that the "greens" (nitrogen-rich food) and "browns" (carbon-rich wood/dry leaves) must mix with air and water to create soil.

1. Take a clean glass jar.
2. Layer 1 inch of dry twigs/leaves (Browns) at the bottom.
3. Layer 1 inch of soil (containing natural bacteria/microbes).
4. Layer 1 inch of finely chopped food scraps (Greens - apple peels, lettuce).
5. Repeat the layers until the jar is almost full.
6. Sprinkle a small amount of water on top (it should be damp, not soggy) and place a piece of breathable cloth over the top, secured with a rubber band.
7. Place it in a sunny window and observe the layers merge over the next few weeks!

To help support local insects and birds, Eleanor will make wildflower seed bombs to plant in bare soil spots.

1. Mix: In a bowl, mix 3 parts clay powder (or air-dry clay) with 1 part organic potting soil.
2. Add Seeds: Sprinkle in a healthy pinch of native wildflower seeds.
3. Knead: Slowly add drops of water until the mixture sticks together like dough.
4. Roll: Roll the mixture into small, marble-sized balls.
5. Dry & Deploy: Let them dry for 24 hours. Once dry, Eleanor can throw or place these "bombs" into barren areas, gardens, or roadsides. When it rains, the clay dissolves, the soil nourishes the seeds, and wildflowers grow for the bees!